A. D. White’s description of the Troyes corbel in his 1905 autobiography is the last known documentation of this piece of medieval stonework at Cornell. In the past few decades, several researchers have tried unsuccessfully to locate the piece. In 1980, for instance, the Cornell Daily Sun published A Century at Cornell, in which Elizabeth Baker Wells (Class of '28) cited White’s description of his purchase in Troyes (from his autobiography) and asked, “Does anyone know where [the corbel] is now?” Another researcher posited that it was incorporated into the fireplace of the A. D. White reading room of Uris Library when it was built in 1891 (it was not).

When the annotated photograph of the corbel shown above (left) emerged during the processing of the A. D. White architectural photographs, it provided a positive source for identification. The staff of the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections was delighted when the Troyes corbel itself came to light! Thanks to the cooperation and generosity of several dedicated Cornellians, this wonderful piece of medieval craftsmanship and Cornell history has now returned to the University. In June, 2002, the Troyes Cathedral corbel was transferred to the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University.